The electoral impasse in Haiti. (How to cheat by the rules 101).

If there is one aspect of Haitian politics that I have not really followed recently, it is the creation of the new permanent electoral council. I haven’t followed it because I understood from the beginning where it was heading. In Haiti, before each election, a provisory electoral council is put in place through a consensus of the different branches of government. Its mission consists in organizing fair election and its members usually come from different sectors of national life.

The permanent electoral council's mission and members are quite the same, except that members don't get rotated with each new government; their mandate is to last at least 10 years. And this is why, today, it is so difficult to find a consensus between the executive branch (under Martelly's control) and the legislative branch (an offspring of Inite and some other political parties). People tend to see elections in Haiti as a "selection"; however, it is not quite one. During the Duvalier times maybe it was but after 1986, elections have become a contest of cheaters; candidates look for clever ways to put ballots in the electoral boxes.

To help you understand this, I want you to think about a soccer game were both teams are trying to cheat their way into winning; if the referee is impartial, the most obvious cheats will be discarded but there are still chances that the less obvious ones will go unseen. Now, imagine that one of the teams get to choose a referee; well that team will chose a person that is closer to its own interest so that their blatant cheats can go unsanctioned while those of their opponents will. And that's exactly what's happening today when it comes to the appointment of the permanent electoral council; this council is the referee and this one can get to officiate for 10 years. Therefore, both, party in power and opposition claim to be fighting for an impartial council but in reality both are looking to have the referee on their side for the next 10 years. Both sides know they are going to cheat anyways but if the rule enforcer is your side, you can always cheat.... by the rules